ArticleMetabolites2021
Can the Mitochondrial Metabolic Theory Explain Better the Origin and Management of Cancer than Can the Somatic Mutation Theory?
Article in Metabolites, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Molecular Pathogenesis, Metabolic Vulnerabilities, and Therapeutic Potential of Sorghum Polyphenols.Analytical cellular pathology (Amsterdam) · 2026Review
- Immunometabolic Gatekeeping: Reconciling Peto's & the T-cell Infiltration Prognostic Paradox.ArXiv · 2025Article
- The planetary diet: a nutritional utopia in conflict with human evolution.Nutrition & metabolism · 2025Article
- The Warburg hypothesis and the emergence of the mitochondrial metabolic theory of cancer.Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes · 2025Review
- Impact of physiological media on acute myeloid leukemia bioenergetics and cell proliferation.Cancer & metabolism · 2025Article
- Ketosis suppression and ageing (KetoSAge): the effect of suppressing ketosis on SHBG and sex hormone profiles in healthy premenopausal women, and its implications for cancer risk and therapy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Clinical research framework proposal for ketogenic metabolic therapy in glioblastoma.BMC medicine · 2024Review
- Estimating the Number of Polygenic Diseases Among Six Mutually Exclusive Entities of Non-Tumors and Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- In Vitro Methylene Blue and Carboplatin Combination Triggers Ovarian Cancer Cells Death.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Systematic Review and Clinical Insights: The Role of the Ketogenic Diet in Managing Glioblastoma in Cancer Neuroscience.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Review
- Mitochondrial-Stem Cell Connection: Providing Additional Explanations for Understanding Cancer.Metabolites · 2024Article
- The optimal amino acid pattern for humans and its implications for nutrition of cancer patients.Translational breast cancer research : a journal focusing on translational research in breast cancer · 2024Article
- Amino Acid and Glucose Fermentation Maintain ATP Content in Mouse and Human Malignant Glioma Cells.ASN neuro · 2024Article
- Metabolic factors associated with the prognosis of oligometastatic patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2023Review
- Case report: Resolution of malignant canine mast cell tumor using ketogenic metabolic therapy alone.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Pathoetiology and Pathophysiology: Roles of Astrocytes, Gut Microbiome, and Muscle Interactions via the Mitochondrial Melatonergic Pathway, with Disruption by Glyphosate-Based Herbicides.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Molecular Mechanisms for Ketone Body Metabolism, Signaling Functions, and Therapeutic Potential in Cancer.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Simulations of surface charge density changes during the untreated solid tumour growth.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- Review
- NMR-Based Metabolomic Analysis of Plasma in Patients with Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Pilot Study.Metabolites · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A theory that can best explain the facts of a phenomenon is more likely to advance knowledge than a theory that is less able to explain the facts. Cancer is generally considered a genetic disease based on the somatic mutation theory (SMT) where mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes cause dysregulated cell growth. Evidence is reviewed showing that the mitochondrial metabolic theory (MMT) can better account for the hallmarks of cancer than can the SMT. Proliferating cancer cells cannot survive or grow without carbons and nitrogen for the synthesis of metabolites and ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). Glucose carbons are essential for metabolite synthesis through the glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways while glutamine nitrogen and carbons are essential for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing metabolites and ATP through the glutaminolysis pathway. Glutamine-dependent mitochondrial substrate level phosphorylation becomes essential for ATP synthesis in cancer cells that over-express the glycolytic pyruvate kinase M2 isoform (PKM2), that have deficient OxPhos, and that can grow in either hypoxia (0.1% oxygen) or in cyanide. The simultaneous targeting of glucose and glutamine, while elevating levels of non-fermentable ketone bodies, offers a simple and parsimonious therapeutic strategy for managing most cancers.
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